Pe'er advances to third round of Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.
By ALLON SINAIPeer 311(photo credit: REUTERS)
Shahar Pe’er got her claycourt season off to a winning start on Tuesday, beating Sofia Arvidsson 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.After receiving a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed, Pe’er, ranked No. 11 in the world, needed just 65 minutes to progress to the last 16, where she will face German Julia Goerges (35), who benefited from the retirement of Eva Birnerova.Pe’er entered the tournament just five ranking points from a place in the top-10, with the Israeli on 3,030 points and No. 10 Serena Williams on 3,035.A victory over Goerges is expected to take Pe’er above Williams, but she will also need other results to go her way to ensure that she breaks into the top-10 for the first time in her career next Monday and isn’t overtaken by a player currently ranked below her.After winning just three of 11 matches this season, Dudi Sela dropped out of the world’s top-100, falling nine places to No. 105.Sela will hope to get his season back on track on the Challenger circuit, starting with the 85,000-euro event in Athens next week.
